(Review) #UnicornMoment by Checkpoint Theatre & The Studios

Photo credits: Citynomads

I first heard of #UnicornMoment when I was browsing YouTube for my daily dose of subscribed videos and the videos of it from Shu An's channel came up on my "What to Watch" list.

Ever since I started watching Tried and Tested, a webcast on Clicknetwork, I had always been a fan of the bubbly Oon Shu An and her various reviews on popular as well as interesting beauty products, some of which I have incorporated into my own beauty routine like the Bioderma Sensibio H20 and hair tools such as the velcro hair donut, comb pins and hair bun sponge.

Photo credit: Tried and Tested

Her keen involvement in the local theatre scene was also something which came as a pleasant surprise to me, since I always thought she seemed like someone who had more of a commercial presence. I heard about her involvement in Lightseeker the Musical when I was still working at Universal Studios Singapore.

When I found out about #UnicornMoment, I immediately knew that I wanted to go catch it just simply because I was curious about her style as a theatre practitioner and support her since I am a fan of Tried and Tested.

That and how there was a student price on the tickets (I am a theatre lover on a budget, unfortunately.)

In all honesty I was not sure entirely sure of what to expect because I only watched a few videos from her #UnicornMoment video logs (vlogs) on her YouTube channel so I only managed to put two and two together during the show, after reading more about it in the brochure, Sistic website, and watching nearly all the videos.

The choice of venue at the Esplanade Theatre Studio was extremely on point due to the cozy nature of the black box setting. It also brought a lot of nostalgia for me because I used to rehearse in that very space when I was in secondary school; I was in a drama workshop, training for a school musical.

Production side was impressive, especially with the use of different sized fridges which were all white in color. These fridges served as props for Shu An to execute her one-woman show and also doubled up as screens to hold projected images which helped to set the scene and backdrop.

Content wise, Shu An address some really close and heartfelt topics which resonates with the masses because she talks about topics which almost anyone would face at some point in their life like death, loss and self-doubt. I found myself turning to my companion for the evening and nodding in agreement to her points every so often.

The play emphasizes on the importance of "Connection" and had surprising depth for matters which seem rather lighthearted.

Shu An also talked about the process of interview the various people from her life and how that impacted her because it begun to change her perspective and view of how she remembered her past.

Delivery wise, Shu An was riveting. I was completely sucked into the play and her personal stories which are easy to relate to. She was very humorous and energetic, especially with the use of dolls to portray difficult friendships, and 朋友 by Emil Chua playing in the background.

Although my companion was really skeptical of someone pulling off a Natalie Tran (from Community Channel) live, he was quite impressed by Shu An's successful delivery. She made the characters of her mother and sister in particular really easy to distinguish from the other people in her life whom she interviewed.

However, as much as I enjoyed the show, there were many elements which I weren't too thrilled about. Some aspects of the choreography hardly made any sense to me, particularly the ending sequence. It really challenged me to draw links to the issues and anecdotes which she discussed earlier on in the play.

From the audience's seat and the view of someone who appreciates such symbolic movements to represent a cycle and closure, I also found the ending too abstract. There could have been a more straightforward yet meaningful way to end the play.

Despite the negativity, I really enjoyed the performance on a whole and truly respect Shu An and her team for the great amount of effort exhausted in putting this play together, from interviewing people from her life, even the ones whom she did not want to see, to coordinating such simple yet mind blowing props such as the fridges which doubled up as screens, doors and cupboards to set the scene.

It was definitely a refreshing change from all the Wild Rice plays I have been seeing since last year, and I really look forward to checking out what Checkpoint Theatre and Esplanade's The Studios has to offer in the near future.